DISTRIBUTION OF CERTAIN FOREST TREES IN SCOTLAND. 101 



Tiie Scots fir, probably Pinus sylvestris, is another widely- 

 distributed tree. It is common in the northern counties, in the 

 Orkney Islands and Lewis, in all the midland counties, with 

 the exception of Forfar and Fife, but in the southern counties 

 it is only recorded in Renfrew, Edinburgh, Roxburgh, Dumfries, 

 and Wigtown. 



The liazel has been found in the submerged forests and in 

 many parts of the Orkney and Shetland Islands, and also in 

 some of the Western Isles. There is no record of its occuri'ence 

 in Sutherland, but throughout the midlands it is fairly plentiful, 

 and in the lowlands it has been found in all the counties with 

 thfi exception of Haddington, Linlithgow, Selkirk, Dumfries, and 

 Wigtown. 



The bii"ch is another common tree. It is recorded in the 

 Orkney and Shetland Islands, and in the majority of the 

 counties from Caithness to Wigtown. 



Regarding the other trees there are few records. The alder is 

 recorded from Lewis, Banff, Aberdeen, Kincardine, Perth, Fife, 

 Argyll, Lanark, and Edinburgh. 



The willow, which variety I am unable to say, occurs both in 

 Caithness and Sutherland in most northerly situations. It has 

 also been obtained from the peat-bogs in Renfrew, Lanark, and 

 Roxburgh. 



The ash is reported, as already stated, as having been found 

 in the Bay of Keiss, Caithness-shire. It is also recorded from 

 the mosses in Ballantrae, Ayrshire, and Bowden parish, Rox- 

 burghshire. 



The only records of the occurrence of the hawthorn, yew, and 

 elder are obtained from Edinbui-ghshire. This scarcity of re- 

 cords must be due to a want of investigation, for there can be 

 no doubt that those trees must have been widely distributed 

 throughout Scotland in the past. 



The results derived from this investigation of post-glacial 

 deposits are twofold : (1st) they show that the principal forest 

 trees were formerly more widely distributed than at present; 

 (2nd) they indicate which trees must be considered indigenous in 

 Scotland. 



We have just seen that in early post-glacial times, the now 

 bare and bleak Orkney and Shetland Islands, and the treeless 

 Western Isles, were covered with trees ; the oak, for example, 

 flourished in all the counties, though now, according to Pro- 



